Everyone’s speech was encouraging, except for Hungary

The NATO summit ended tonight with a round of meetings devoted to Ukraine. The foreign minister said that the member states are more united on Ukraine than before. The results of the meeting were embodied, among other things, in increased support for Ukraine’s progress within the alliance and improved wording.

“The outcome of the summit was very clear” Foreign Minister Þórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörð Gylfadóttir said in an interview South Korea After the meeting.

“ÞThere are a lot of big issues that really matter, starting with support for Ukraine. A continued commitment, a decision on minimum long-term support that the member states support, clearer language on Ukraine’s future membership in NATO, and a decision on that.”

She also noted that Vladimir Selensky The Ukrainian president also attended the meeting.

“It was reassuring to hear the majority speak. Everyone, except Hungary.”

If a state allows this based on funding alone, it will affect other areas

Þórdís said the unity among member states at this meeting was stronger than the last time Vilnius last year. It’s a true reflection of how things have developed since then.

Additionally, the presence of other partner countries such as Japan and South Korea also demonstrated how interconnected these territories are.

“There is also a lot of discussion about Russia’s multifaceted threats and actions against several members of the Atlantic Alliance, which reflects serious Russian developments and strategies toward us.” The minister said.

“So these multifactorial threats start to spread to the member states, and likewise, some of the partner countries, certainly for the third time, namely Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Australia. This in turn reflects the reality that this is interconnected.”

If the result is that a country can wage wars of conquest and change recognized borders simply by virtue of its strength, and if this is allowed to happen, it will affect the rest of the world as well. Since Sweden now sits at the negotiating table as a full member of the Union, it is possible to find great unity.

The leaders have a tight meeting schedule.
U.S. Department of State/Jim Bourg

Are Ukrainians leaving satisfied?

Asked if she thought the Ukrainians could leave the negotiating table peacefully, Þórdís said Selensky Said the meeting was a complete success.

“Selensky Earlier he himself said that the meeting was a success. The wording, the texts and the decisions taken here on its membership of the alliance, there was agreement on this because the path is shortened, not extended. This is despite the fact that there are indeed some countries that want to go further in this regard,” said Þórdís.

“But, of course, some issues that were being discussed between individual member states and Ukraine were not discussed at the conference. But this is just happening in real time and it involves the Ukrainians authorizing the use of the weapons that they sent because they deem it necessary to defend their country and their people, and nothing will go unnoticed. This was not part of the outcome of the conference, but as it stands, this issue has even found a solution, at least it is very important in the list of their most called for, and these conversations, of course, took place during bilateral meetings and in the corridors. But all in all, the outcome of this conference is important and successful, and the Ukrainians agree with this.”

Þórdís also said that the results of the meeting were reflected not only in increased support and improved wording, but also in actions aimed at increasing the overall, efficiency and transparency of member states’ support. She also mentioned the permanent presence of the Atlantic Alliance and other organizations in Kyiv.

The region is safer under one umbrella

During a meeting to discuss the development of Nordic defence, Þórdis said the entry of the Finns and Swedes into the alliance was a major turning point. However, the countries had been working harmoniously with the alliance for a long time, which made the implementation of the systems and plans before Sweden’s entry easier.

“Cooperation between the Nordic countries in the defence sector has of course increased significantly in recent years and has become much simpler now that all Nordic countries are members of the alliance.” The minister said.

“Of course, it’s important that the Finns and Swedes are safer than before, but the whole region benefits from the protective umbrella of the Atlantic Alliance, so the importance of this goes far beyond these two countries. But of course, this again reflects a serious situation where they believe that in a very short period of time they must and must be members of the Atlantic Alliance in order to count on their protection from the Russian threat.”

Þórdís Kolbrún participated in various panel discussions.
U.S. Department of State/Justin Tafoya

How much the country’s contribution is often discussed

When asked how she felt about the attitude towards countries and people at the conference, and Iceland’s contribution, Þórdís said that being one of the founding nations of the Union brings a certain respect.

Stepping up support for Ukraine is completely natural and in our interest, but given our special position within the alliance.

“But of course, we spent a lot of time discussing the contributions of the allies, how much they were increasing their contributions, and that this was a joint project. Our uniqueness in this case was fully understood, but it did not change the fact that all the allies were significantly increasing their defense spending in order to be able to protect this joint project,” the minister said.

“We have certainly been increasing our defense spending and we have found ways to support Ukraine, but we will continue to look at how we can be a valuable ally and what we need to do to protect our security and our defense interests. “We have to work through some of these issues to a certain extent,” she added.

“We have to work together to do what is necessary, nothing is easy. We just live in a time when leaders cannot make easy decisions,” concludes Þórdís.